A state grant has been awarded to the Southbury Land Trust to clear trails and add boardwalks, if needed, to access a pollinator pathway, meadow, pond, and stream at Bothwell Farm.  The $253,500 will also be used to add a wildlife viewing platform on the northern side of the pond, a short and fairly level distance from the parking area, making it more accessible for visitors with disabilities.  The more than 31 acre Bothwell Farm on Reservoir Road and Woodbury Road has historic and cultural significance as a dairy farm in the early 1900s. The site contains an abundance of DEEP-rated Class AA watercourses and the headwaters of streams that feed the recharge area of Woodbury’s public water supply well.

Aspetuck Land Trust has been awarded a nearly $400,000 grant to preserve almost 10 acres in Wilton.  The 9.8 acres consists of two lots on Old Two Rod Highway.  The organization is looking to create a 705-acre contiguous forest known as the Weston/Wilton Forest Block.  This will be the sixth acquisition by the Aspetuck Land Trust, providing passive recreation opportunities, with a public access trail heads at the Upper Parish Drive terminus (to the north), on the adjacent Fromson-Strassler Property and Old Two Rod Highway/Wampum Hill Road terminus (to the south).  The Aspetuck Land Trust plans to connect the WWFB with the Norwalk River Valley Trail in Wilton through other open spaces owned by the town and Wilton Land Conservation Trust.  The Norwalk River Valley Trail is a 38-mile, multi-purpose phased trail construction project from Norwalk to Danbury, connecting to the Norwalk Heritage Greenway (a Connecticut-designated greenway). The WWFB is one of the last un-fragmented forests in Fairfield County.